VARIEGATED SOLOMON'S SEAL

Variegated Solomon's Seal (or known as Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum') is a wonderful plant!  There are a few plants in my beds that people are always asking about, and this is one of them.  It is best know for it's arching, 2-3 foot tall stems with an irregular white margin on the edge of the leaves.  In late spring, it has fragrant, bell-shaped, 1 1/4 inch-long, white flowers that hang from beneath the stems.  It is beautiful through the summer, and I especially like its beautiful, yellow fall color. It spreads by rhizomes, and increases yearly.  It needs to be planted in a shady bed; I have it in my upper bed, with the Hostas, Ferns, Forget-Me-Nots, Goatsbeard, Bleeding Hearts, Ligularia, Primrose, and Hellebores--plants that all like shade and look especially nice with it.  Solomon's Seal like evenly moist, well-drained soil.  In the late fall, I cut mine down to 3", but you can leave them if you want. I've seen Solomon's Seal in local nurseries, as well as mail-order catalogs.  There are a few varieties, but I like the variegated best.  It is an easy, long-lived plant--with very few, if any, pest problems.  I recommend it for your shade beds.